It's coming up on Thanksgiving weekend in the states, so Harmonix has gotten next week's Rock Band Music Store additions announcement out of the way so the team can get down to the serious business of eating until they can't move. Next week brings three new Nirvana tracks to Rock Band, including the Nirvana track, along with a strangely crippled 3-pack debut for 80's icons Night Ranger.

Nirvana Pack 02 comes complete with "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which is the one Nirvana song everybody knows, as well as the Live at Reading version of "Lithium" and the MTV Unplugged version of "Come As You Are," the latter of which is strangely available for LEGO Rock Band as well.

Night Ranger's 3-pack consists of "(You Can Still) Rock in America," "Don't Tell Me You Love Me," and "You're Gonna Hear It From Me," all three of which can be purchased in both normal and LEGO Rock Band. A lovely selection, but without Sister Christian this track pack is dead to me. Dead I tell you!

You're motorin'!

Three shots of Nirvana and a four-pack of Foo Fighters grace the Rock Band Music Store next week, with Joan Jett and the Blackheart's "Fake Friends" this week's sole non Nirvana-related track.

For those of you who prefer Dave Grohl stick to drumming, Nirvana's "About a Girl," "School," and "Blew" will keep him quietly hitting the skins. Those of you wishing for a more pronounced Grohl presence should be pleased with "Best of You," "The Pretender," "Wheels," and "Word Forward" from the Foo Fighters.

If you prefer a more portable Rock Band experience, there's always Bullet For My Valentine's "Waking the Demon" and System of a Down's "Toxicity" for Rock Band Unplugged on the PSP, both of which contain zero Grohl-levels.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 3) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 5):

• Foo Fighters – "Best of You"
• Foo Fighters – "The Pretender"
• Foo Fighters – "Wheels"
• Foo Fighters – "Word Forward"
• Nirvana – "About a Girl"
• Nirvana – "Blew"
• Nirvana – "School"
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – "Fake Friends"

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (Nov. 5):

• Bullet For My Valentine – "Waking the Demon"
• System of a Down – "Toxicity"

"Ms. Cobain is extremely upset about Activision's use of Mr. Cobain's likeness to sing the songs of others in its Guitar Hero game," Keith A. Fink, Love's attorney, told Kotaku. "Activision was granted permission by Kurt's trust solely to use his name and likeness. Activision was not given an unbridled right to use Mr. Cobain's name and likeness. Kurt's songs have a special and unique meaning to his fans and his image and legacy are very important to Ms. Cobain. The agreement Activision has with the trust doesn't allow them to use his likeness in ways that denigrate his image. We would hope Activision would do the right thing on its own and prohibit game users from using Kurt's image to sing others songs and if they don't we expect the trust to take appropriate action to protect Mr. Cobain's image."

Activision told Kotaku earlier this week that Love signed the agreement allowing the use of Cobain in the game. But what appears to be driving most of the controversy is the ability for gamers to use Cobain's likeness to perform in and sing other songs.

Love posted on her Twitter account that she was going to sue Activision and that the way Cobain appears in the game is a breach of contract. She also said she was sickened by how he is used in the game.

Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the two surviving members of Nirvana, released a joint statement saying they too are upset over the way Cobain can be used to pantomime other artists' music "alongside cartoon characters."

"Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better."

The are asking Activision to "re-lock" Cobain's character so he can only perform his own songs in the game.

This fan-created compilation (via Giant Bomb) of cringe-worthy Cobain moments—performing as Flavor Flav and Jon Bon Jovi, all alongside Xbox Live Avatars, a skeleton drummer and at one point two other Kurts—is both hilarious in its absurdity and disheartening. Clearly zero effort was made to preserve the dead Nirvana singer's identity as someone who'd likely never say "Yeeaahh, boyee!" But who knows where the blame lies here. Activision? Neversoft? Courtney?

Clearly great care was made in the 3D modeling of Cobain's cardigan and the Daniel Johnston t-shirt texture appears lovingly slapped on, but it seems someone mistakenly left the decorum variable set to zero.

Granted, Cobain's not the only dead man to appear in a Guitar Hero or Rock Band game, but this representation of the musician smacks of overwhelming bad taste.

Thanks to Lawrence for the heads up.

The new Nirvana songs for the Wii versions of Rock Band are the same as the ones that appeared on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in October of last year, only a bit later. The new additions are "Breed", "Lounge Act", "On a Plain", "Polly", "Something in the Way", "Stay Away", and "Territorial Pissings", all from the band's 1991 album Nevermind. With "In Bloom" from Rock Band and "Drain You" from Rock Band 2, this leaves Rock Band Wii just three songs short of a complete album, lacking only "Lithium", "Come as You Are", and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - arguably three of the best tracks from Nevermind.

Each track is available now for 200 Wii Points. Anyone in their 30's must of course purchase them immediately, as the media decided long ago that Nirvana was the musical voice of our generation.

Novoselic wrote about confronting a song he'd played hundreds of time — in studio, live, you name it — on Rock Band 2. But first, he's not a gaming luddite: "Rock has found new life with video games, and the phenomenon is leading to a revival of bands that have been around for a long time," he wrote in the Seattle Weekly.

But he never had any exposure to Rock Band or Guitar Hero until recently in a mall store, where he was literally beaten at his own game.

I know about Rock Band, because Nirvana has some songs on it. I had never tried the game before, so I gave it a go. I worked through the menu and found the song "In Bloom." I picked up the little guitar-shaped controller and hit the stage.

I knew the bass line to the song, of course, but I couldn't quite master this new, different way of playing it.

The game reminded me of Space Invaders. I tried to hit the notes cascading down the screen, but could barely keep up.

Meanwhile, this kid was watching me fumble with the game. I became self-conscious and took the controller off. I handed it to him, and he proceeded to jam on the song—and was really good! He had no idea that I was the musician he was emulating on the game, and I didn't tell him.

But Krist's final analysis? Thumbs up:

Regardless of my first experience with the game as a player, I'm loving Rock Band. Instead of file sharing, people are actually buying music again! HA!!!

Putting that issue aside, I like how the game makes the player focus on certain components of the music. When I listen to songs, I'll usually tune my ear to the bass line. With Rock Band, you can do that, but also see the procession of notes.

Old Songs on a New Screen [Seattle Weekly, thanks huginn]

December starts off with The Smashing Pumpkins three-song pack, which contains their new single "G.L.O.W.", as well as "1979" and "Everlasting Gaze". Following the natural musical progression, we then slide into December 11th's Nirvana track pack, which adds "You Know You're Right", "Silver", and Negative Creep" to your arsenal. The 18th see things mellowing out significantly with The Eagles track pack, featuring "Frail Grasp On The Big Picture" as well as two classics, "Life In The Fast Lane" and "One Of These Nights". Finally we build to a crashing climax on the 23rd with the free Reggae Rock Track Pack, consisting of Slightly Stoopid's "Jimi", Pepper's "Your Face", and "Sacrifice" from The Expendables.

And here I thought Santa was going to skip my Christmas reggae this year. Thanks Activision! You got the touch!

The Eagles, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins And Others Set to Rock Guitar Hero® World Tour With Downloadable Content in December

The Smashing Pumpkins' "G.L.O.W," "1979" and "The Everlasting Gaze" Available Tomorrow

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec 03, 2008 - Legendary multi-platinum recording artists The Eagles, Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins, all featured in the on-disc set list of Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour, are returning in December with exclusive downloadable content for the game. Additionally, fans will be in for a treat just in time for Christmas with three free Reggae Rock tracks from Pepper, Slightly Stoopid and Expendables.

The Smashing Pumpkins, one of rock's defining and most acclaimed bands who have sold over 30 million albums, return to Guitar Hero World Tour, tomorrow December 4th, with a three-song track pack featuring the recently released single "G.L.O.W.," "1979" and "Everlasting Gaze."

Featuring the stylistic melodies of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, the pioneers of alternative rock, Nirvana, make their Guitar Hero® downloadable content debut with the Nirvana Track Pack. Featuring the final single released by the band, "You Know You're Right," along with "Negative Creep," off the band's debut album Bleach, and the smash hit "Sliver," the Nirvana Track Pack will be available for Guitar Hero World Tour on December 11th.

After delivering the timeless rock ballad "Hotel California" to the on-disc set list of Guitar Hero World Tour, The Eagles will thrill the Guitar Hero audience once again on December 18th with three chart topping hits. From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees' seventh studio album and first in 28 years, Long Road Out of Eden, "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" is joined by two classic tracks that climbed to the top of the Billboard's Hot 100, "One of These Nights" and "Life in the Fast Lane."

Rounding out the downloadable set list for Guitar Hero World Tour in December are three free Reggae grooves. The Reggae Rock Track Pack is comprised of "Jimi" from Slightly Stoopid, "Your Face" from Pepper and Expendables' "Sacrifice." The free tracks will be available for download on December 23rd.

The Eagles, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins Track Packs will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $5.49. The songs in each Track Pack will be released as downloadable singles for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $1.99 and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection for WiiTM for 200 Wii Points. The Free Reggae Rock Track Pack will be available for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 and as singles for Wii.

Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero's signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player "Battle of the Bands," which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online. The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a wired microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock 'n' roll anthems. Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour is now available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The game is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

Cost to you is a mere $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per track, with the full Nirvana "7 Pack" priced at $10.99 (880 Microsoft Points). Cheap!

• "Breed"
• "Lounge Act"
• "On a Plain"
• "Polly"
• "Something in the Way"
• "Stay Away"
• "Territorial Pissings"

Nevermind Never Officially Confirmed for Rock Band DLC [Co-Optimus, via 1UP]

Landing major albums like this is a good sign for Rock Band and gamers alike, as it will hopefully snowball into more and more good albums, preventing our playlist being resembling Bargain Bin's Greatest Hits. So if you could have any album to play, what would it be? From about the same era, I think I'd go with Weezer's Blue Album.

Download Nirvana's Nevermind for Rock Band [cvg]